E4OD and AOD

[Ray Cecil]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/485552878709818/

Thoughts? Should I purchase either one or both just to have them? They are cheap enough.

[Gary Lewis]

You, like me, come from a GM background where transmissions swap with ease.  Not so in Fords.
 Transmission bolt patterns are specific to the engine series.  So a tranny for a Windsor and 300 six, which share a bolt pattern, won't fit on a 460.  And one from a 460 won't fit on a diesel.

The AOD wasn't put in anything with more torque than a 302 or a 300.  Never behind the 351W, and certainly never behind a 460 or the diesel.  In stock form they can't handle much torque and are very sensitive to having their linkage adjusted correctly.  But, I've been told that with the right aftermarket parts they can be pretty stout.  But, they won't fit a 460 or diesel.

The E4OD requires a controller.  There are standalone ones for about $750 and up.  Or you can do as I'm doing for Dad's truck and use Ford's EEC system to control it.  But it is a good tranny and came behind all of Ford's engines.  With its 4 speeds and lock-up torque converter it is much more efficient than the C6.

But, at the price of those it wouldn't hurt to buy them if you have a place to put them.

[Ray Cecil]

Thanks Gary.....

Yeah.....I do not like that about ford transmissions. I knew there were some weird bolt patterns, but I wasn't sure.

I have a known good C6, but as we all know, no OD...I was just thinking about Automatic options when I saw that ad. $70 for an AOD and a t-case sounds like a good deal. It would bolt up to the 300 right?

[Gary Lewis]

The bolt pattern for the Windors is the same as a 300 six, so "yes" assuming that's what they are off of.

[LARIAT 85]

The AOD wasn't used with a 351 in the trucks, but it was used in some full-size cars (and Police cars) with the 351 engine.  

[Rembrant]

Ray Cecil wrote

I have a known good C6, but as we all know, no OD...I was just thinking about Automatic options when I saw that ad. $70 for an AOD and a t-case sounds like a good deal. It would bolt up to the 300 right?

It would bolt right up, yes...but be mindful of the flexplate...even though they will all bolt up the same, they are engine specific and cannot be swapped around. (I guess the old 28oz 302 and 351 would be the only exception?, at least in the SBF and inline six group).

I know most people do auto to manual swaps, but doing a manual to auto swap would present some problems with shifter linkages, etc. I guess you could do an aftermarket floor shifter.

[Danny G]

Gary Lewis wrote

You, like me, come from a GM background where transmissions swap with ease.  Not so in Fords.
 Transmission bolt patterns are specific to the engine series.  So a tranny for a Windsor and 300 six, which share a bolt pattern, won't fit on a 460.  And one from a 460 won't fit on a diesel.

The AOD wasn't put in anything with more torque than a 302 or a 300.  Never behind the 351W, and certainly never behind a 460 or the diesel.  In stock form they can't handle much torque and are very sensitive to having their linkage adjusted correctly.  But, I've been told that with the right aftermarket parts they can be pretty stout.  But, they won't fit a 460 or diesel.

The E4OD requires a controller.  There are standalone ones for about $750 and up.  Or you can do as I'm doing for Dad's truck and use Ford's EEC system to control it.  But it is a good tranny and came behind all of Ford's engines.  With its 4 speeds and lock-up torque converter it is much more efficient than the C6.

But, at the price of those it wouldn't hurt to buy them if you have a place to put them.

If a E4OD will bolt up do you think a 4R100 would as well? How would you integrate the electronic transmissions in an old truck? E4OD is basically a C6 with OD and a computer correct? then the 4R100 is just an upgraded E4OD? I was looking at AOD's for a while but started considering the E4OD after reading how it shares parts with the venerable C6.

[Danny G]

The other thing I was thinking of doing was rebuilding my C6 with GV unit but the Gear Vendors unit is more expensive then buying a whole new OD trans.

[Gary Lewis]

I responded in your new thread on Transmissions, but for completeness I'll also respond here.

From what I've read the 4R100 is the same as an E4OD with some revisions.  And, most of the internal parts swap.  Further, a 4R100 will bolt up where an E4OD was - except that at about the same time of the change in the transmissions the engine options changed.  For instance, I don't think you can find a 4R100 for a 460 as the tranny came out the first year the 460 didn't.

Also, there were a number of upgrades for the E4OD as well as the 4R100 over the years.  So you'd want to upgrade any transmission with all of the mod's.  I had the shop that built my E4OD for Dad's truck upgrade it with the ALL of the mod's.  And, that included some for 4R100's.

For instance, I tend to remember that the pan is a 4R100 pan with a factory drain plug and reusable gasket on the pan.